Humidity controller



O 13,1942 F. D. JOESTING 2,298,827

Human? CONTROLLER Filed June 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ,{SnveniorFreicric'k ID. Joesl-ing Uikorngg Qct.13, 1942. D. JOEVSTING. 2,298,827

HUM IDITY CONTROLLER inventor 7 Frederick D. Josiing Patented 13, 19 42HUMIDITY CONTROLLER Frederick D. locating Chicago, 111.,

Minneapolis-Honeywell Begulato assignor to Company,

Minneapolis, Minn, a corporationoi Delaware Application June 15, 1940,Serial No. 340,853 4 v The present invention relates to control de- 18Claims.

vices and is more' particularly concerned with providing a compact andaccurate controller which responds to changes in humidity.

Another object is to provide a humidity control mechanism placed withina neat and decorative casing suitable for mounting upon a wall orelsewhere in a dwelling or other building.

A further object is to provide, in a control device, a simplifiedadjustment for varying the sensitivity or the differential of saiddevice in its normal controlling operation.

Another object is to provide a simplified reversing arrangement forsetting said device to actuate a controlled mechanism by either director reverse action, whichever is desired.

Another object is to provide a simplified strain release for thecondition responsive element which is associated with the adjustmentmechanism for the element.

A biasing spring 25 bears against the upper Sure face of the flappervalve 2| and is adjustably secured in position by a bolt 35. v

- The flapper valve mechanism 20 is actuated by an adjustable levermechanism 40. A flrst lever 4| is in the form of a bell crank pivotedupon horizontal pivot pins 42 which are secured to the righthandupstanding arm 22 of the base 20 as viewed in Figure 3. This lever 4| isretained upon the pins 42 by a small spring 49. The lever 4| has a leverarm 42 provided with an adjustment screw 44 which operatively engagesthe A still further object is to provide means associated with theadjustment mechanism and the flapper valve 2|. Lever 4| also has asecond broad faced lever arm 45. This arm 45 is broad faced for purposesof adjustment to be hereinafter described. It will be noted withreference to Figure 3 that the lever arm 43 of the lever 4| will berocked up and down upon movement of the other lever arm 45. A secondlever 50 has a broad face 5| which is of substantially the same area asthe broad faced lever arm 45 of the lever 4|. The lever Ill has upperand lower condition responsive element of a control device which willcompensate. for any. movements of such element in response totemperature changes of the ambient air which is in contact with thedevice.

Still other objects will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing specification and claims, taken in view of the accompanyingdrawings, inv which: Y K

Figure 1 is an elevational View of a control instrument embodying theinvention, the cover being in place,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the cover removed,

Figure 3 is Figure 2, I Figure 4 is a section taken on line4-4 of tFigure 3, and

ears 52and 53. The upper ear 52 ispivoted upon a screw 54 which issecured to a bracket 55 which is in turn secured to the right handupstanding arm 22 of the base 20. The lower car 52 is in verticalalignment with the upper car 52 and is pivoted to a screw 56 which issecured to thebase 20 as is clearly shown in 'Figure 4.

his seen that the lever 50 rotates about a vertical axis whereas thelever 4| rotates about a horizontal axis. However, it will be obviousthat any suitable angle for the two axes may be used.

A pin 62 is provided to transfer movement from the lever 50 to the lever4|. This pin 80 .is screw a section taken on line 3-2 of threaded andprovided with a, nut 5| which is .tapped to provide a factory adjustmentfor the pin II. This adjustment comprises screwing the nut 6| until theproper pin III in or out within the length of the pin 60 extends throughthe lever 50.

Figure 5 is a detailed sectional view of a part of my. device.

Referring to Figures 2, 3, and 4. a base 2| has suitable mounting skirts2| and upstanding ends 22. Disposed between the skirts 2| is a secondsmaller base 22 which is fastened to the skirts 2| by screws 24. Securedupon the smaller base 22 is a chamber 25 which has conventional passagestherein which lead to an air supply line 25, a control line 21, and ableed port 22 which is provided in an upstandingnipple 25. Also securedto the base 20 is a valvemechanism 30.. The valve mechanism 30 has aflapper valve 2| which Q is pivoted at 32 upon shoulderedpin's 33 whichare suitably secured to the base 20 by posts 24.

After the device is adjusted a drop of solder 62 may be placed upon thenut BI and the head of the pin to thus form a unitary adjustment screwmember. An adjustment nut 53 is disposed on the opposite side of thelever 50 in cooperative relation with the nut ll and the pin '60. The

adjustmentscrew member fits into'the' slot 65 a or the slot 65. As shownin the drawings, the

adjustment member is in the slot 65.

A typical adjustment may be obtained as folv lows: With reference toFigure 4 assume that a larger differential adjustment for the levermechanism 40 isde'sired. The operator may loosen the nut 5| and slip thepin 50 upwardlyin. the slot I5 until the desired-point is reached. The

, ment I is subjected.

nut 6| may then be tightened to secure the pin 60 in the new position.By this single adjusting movement the effective lever arm of both of thelevers 50 and M will be changed. The lever 50 which rotates about avertical axis as has been previously explained will have its effectivelever arm shortened because the slot 65 slants upwardly toward thisaxis. The lever M -which rotates about the horizontally aligned pins 42will have its effective lever arm lengthened because the pin 60 will bemoved away from its axis. By properly selecting differently slantingslots any desired ratio of change for these effective lever arms may beobtained.

Suitable indicia 50a are stamped upon the face of the lever 50. Indiciacharacters DA indicate the direct acting slot 66 and the characters RAindicate the reverse acting'slot which, when the pin 60 is placedtherein, acts just oppositely to the direct acting slot because thesetwo slots are on different sides of the vertical pivots 54 and 56 forthe lever 50. The action for lever 4| remains the same because the pin60 will remain above the horizontal pivot pins 42.

A humidity responsive element 10 has several hair strands II which aresecured at each end to clips 12. The right hand clip 12 is fastened to apivot I3 which is rotatably secured to an ear B1 of the lever 50. Theleft hand clip I2 has a pin I4 which is rotatably secured to an ear 15aof an adjustment lever I5. Therefore it is seen that this humidityresponsive element I0 is actively secured between the adjusting lever 15and the operating lever 50. A main spring 68 secured to the ear 81 onthe lever 50 and an arm 69 on the bracket 55 at all times biases thelever 50 in one direction and tensions the humidity responsive elementI0 which tends to move the lever 50 in the opposite direction.

The adjustment lever I5 is pivoted at I9 to a temperature compensatingrod 11. The rod 11 has a shoulder I6 which may cooperate with suitablepivot dimples on thelever 15 in a manner that is well known. The rod I1is adjustably secured and is horizontally slidable within a hole in oneend to a bracket I8 secured to the base 20 by screws I9. An adjustmentnut 80 cooperates with a screw threaded portion 8| of the rod 11, thusproviding a factory adjustment of the position of 'the pivot point 16.The other end 82 of the rod I1 is screwthreaded and equipped with a nut83 and a spring 04 to provide a strain release connection for thehumidity responsive element I0. The end 02 extends loosely through theleft hand arm 22 of the base 20 so that if the humidity responsiveelement I0 should shrink beyond the degree to which it is adjusted, theentire rod 11 would be free to move toward the right against the actionof the strain release spring 34. The rod 11 may be made of brass or anyother suitable temperature responsive material and'is adapted tocompensate the humidity responsive element I0 for any changes in ambienttemperature to which the ele- It is also seen that, by combining thistemperature compensating feature with a spring biased pivot for anadjustment lever, a simplified structure providing temperaturecompensation, a strain release, and an ad.- justment is obtained.

An adjustment mechanism 90 is provided to vary the control point for'thehumidity responsive element 10. This adjustment mechanism 90 has a mainadjustment screw 94 which is provided with an enlarged shoulder 95 and areduced neck 96. The shoulder 95 is pressed against the inner surface 91of the left hand arm 22 of the base 20 by a spring clip 98 which engagesa tapered portion 99 of the screw head 93 and the outer surface of thearm 22. A pin I00 is suitably secured in a recess IOI in the shoulder95. The pin I00 is slidably received in a hole I02 in an annular flangeI03 of a sleeve I04. The pin I00 imparts rotary motion from the shoulder95 of the screw 94 to the annular flange I03, thereby rotating the screw94 and the sleeve I 04 simultaneously. A sleeve I05 is provided withexternal screw threads I06 which cooperate with internal screw threadsI01 of the outer sleeve I04. with internal threads I09 which cooperatewith threads I09 on the screw 94. The pitches of the internal andexternal threads of this sleeve I05 are both right hand threads in theparticular modification shown. The purpose of these different threadswill be" more fully described hereinafter. The sleeve I05 isnon-rotatably secured to an arm H0. The top of the arm H0 is providedwith an indicator I3 which may be painted or suitably stamped so as tobe readily seen. A downturned ear III is provided with a hole II2through which a guide arm II3 slidably extends. The arm H3 is secured toa bracket II4 which is suitably secured by a depending arm II5 to theupstanding arm 22 of the base 20. The bracket II4 has-indicia stampedthereon so that the device may be readily adjusted in the factory or forinstallation settings while the cover is 01!.

A cover I0 is attached to a mounting skirt II by suitable means. Thecover I0 has a slot I2 through which the adjustment indicator I3 isvisible. The adjustment indicator I3 cooperates with a scale I4, theindicia of which are impressed upon a depressed portion I5 of the coverI0. The indicia upon the portion I5 are identical to the indicia uponthe bracket II4, hereinbefore mentioned. In many installations, coverswithout slots are provided, in which case thedevice is set with thecover removed in accordance with the indicia on the bracket II4.

A detailed sectional view of the adjustment mechanism is shown in Figure5. A portion of the case I0 is shown in this figure which has a hole 92that registers with an adjustment nut 93. This hole 92 is adapted toallow passage of a suitable socket wrench which may engage the nut 93 toprovide for manual adjustment of the device.

To adjust the humidity responsive element 10 to operate at differenthumldities, a suitable wrench may be inserted through the hole 92 in thecover I0 and engage the nut 93. Upon rotation of the nut 93 in aclockwise direction, the screw threaded stem 94 will be likewise rotatedin a clockwise direction. Because the pin I00 which is secured to theshoulder 95 extends through the hole I02 in the annular flange I03 ofthe sleeve I04, this sleeve I04 will likewise be rotated in a clockwisedirection. Upon such rotation the screw threads I05 and I 01 will tendto move'the sleeve I04 toward the right in relation to the non-rotatablesleeve I05. However. clockwise movement of the screw threads I09 willtend to move the sleeve I05 toward the left. By properly selectingdifferently pitched threads, a

. difference in rate of movement of these two The sleeve I05 is providedarms 9| engage the shoulder I20 at about twice the distance from thepivot point It with respect to distance which the humidity element 10 isconnected to the ear 10, the actual ratio of movement between theindicator II and the humidity element I isabout thirty-two to one. Ofcourse some other suitable ratio could be used if desired. It will beobvious that by rotating-the nut 03 in a counter-clockwise direction,the reverse of the action above described will be eifected.

' It will be understood that many other diiferential movements may beobtained by selecting different .thread pitches or changing the pitchdirection, as from right hand to left hand threads. One example of areversing differential movement could be accomplished as follows: Assumethat the internal threads I00 are thirty-two pitch to the inch, and theexternal threads I08 are thirty pitch (both threads being right hand).

Now if the screw 94 is rotated so as to move the threaded sleeve I oneinch toward v the right,

i thirty-two revolutions thereof will'be necessary.

Because the pin I00 carried by the shoulder 05 of the screw 04 isoperatively connected to the external sleeve I04, this sleeve likewisewill be-rotateds Thirty-two revolutions of the exterior sleeve I04 willcause this sleeve. to move thirtytwo thirtieths of an inch toward theleft, or one and one-fifteenth inches relative to the threaded sleeveI05. Thus it is apparent that in moving the threaded sleeve I05 one inchtoward the right. the external sleeve I04 will be moved one-fifteenthinch toward the left. This shows that various amounts of travel, .orreversed .direction travel, may be obtained by properly selecting dif-'ferently pitched screw threads.

' operatio It has been previously pointed out that the present device isadapted to control the relative humidity in a space to be eitherhumidified or dehumidifled. It has alsobeen explained that the devicemay be made either direct or reverse acting by merely changing theposition of the actu ating nut BI between the adjustment slots 05 or 66as desired.

Assuming then that the parts of the device are in the positionillustrated, the flapper valve member. 3| is held away from the valveport by the 1 lever arm 43. with the adjustment nut in the positionshown, the valve is opened uponan increase in humidity which causes thehumidity re-" sponsive strands II to stretch; when these strands IIstretch, the main spring 60 biases the lever 50 in a counter-clockwisedirection as viewed in Figure 2. As the lever 50 is rotated in acounter-clockwise direction, the pin 00 will bear against the broadfaced arm 4| of the lever 4I and rotate this lever 4| in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Figure 3. Therefore it is seen that the lever arm.43 will be raised to lift the flapper valve 3| away from the 'bleedport 20. by the main spring 68 upon an increase in humidity.

Upon a decrease in humidity, the humidity re-' sponsive strands II willshrinkand rotate the 75 lever 50 in a clockwise direction against theaction of spring 68 as viewed in Figure 2. when the lever 50 is rotatedin a clockwise direction the pin 60 will allow the spring 35 on theflapper valve 31 to bias the lever arm 43 downwardly until the flapperyalve 3| engages the bleed port 20.

It will be noted that the adjustment screw 6| is about in the mid pointof the slot 65 as viewed in Figure 4. At this point of adjustment, thedevice will be at some predetermined intermediate point between maximumand minimum differential adjustment. By differential adjustment is meantthe difference in relative humidity response necessary to open and closethe valve bleed port 28 a 'suflicient amount to fully operate the devicecontrolled. To. adjust the device to have a maximum diflerential as hasbeen hereinbefore explained, the pin 60 may be moved toward the top ofthe slot 65, and for minimum differential, the pin 60 may be moved tothe bottom of the slot 65. It will be noted that when the pin is in theupper position, the'effective lever arm of th lever 50 which acts uponthe portion 45 of the lever 4I will be. reduced. In other words, the pin60 will be closer to the center of rotation of the lever 50. Also, withthe pin 60 in the topof the slot 65, that pin will engage the lever 4|at a point a greater distance away from its pivots 1 to thereby obtainan'effectively large adjustment. 4

42. For the lower position of the pin 80 the opposite relationshipobtains. As'has been previously pointed out, the variations for therelative lever arms for each lever may be selected as desired by usingslots having different angles in relation to the levers.

With the device as shown,'one of the effective lever arms is decreasedas the other is increased with the slot and lever arranged asillustrated in the drawings, it has been found that a change in leverratios of approximately between one to one and fifteen to one can beobtained as the pin 00 is moved from one end of the slot to the other. vIf it is desired to make the device direct acting, the adjustment pin 00may be changed over to. the slot 86 by merely removing the nut andplacing the parts in the slot 06. It will be clear from reference toFigure 4 that the differential adjustment of the device will beidentical. .With

the device direct acting, when the relative humidity which affects thestrands II increases and causes them to stretch, the lever 50 will be'rotated in a counter-clockwise direction, as

viewed in Figure 2, by the main spring 00. The pin now being on theopposite side of the pivots I4 and I56, the pin will move away from vthe broad faced lever arm 45 of the lever 4|. It will be seenbyreferring to Figure 3. that when the pin 00 is moved away from thelever arm 40 the lever arm 43 will be forced downwardly by the spring 35which acts upon the flapper valve 0| to thus close the bleed port 20.

When the relative humidity which aflects the strands II decreases, thesestrands will shrink to rotate the lever 50 against the bias of the mainspring 00 in a, clockwise direction. The pin 00,

now being in the slot 68, will rotate the lever arm 45 in a clockwisedirection as viewed ,in

Figure 3, and raise the lever arm 43 to movethe flapper valve ll awayfrom the bleed port 20.

It is seen that I have provided a humidity responsive device which, maybe either direct or reverse acting asdesired. It is also noted that Ihave provided a differential adjustment for such a device which isadjusted in the same manner whether the device is direct acting orreverse acting. I have also provided a temperature compensatingarrangement including a strain release connection in combination with asimplified adjustment device which gives different ranges of movement toan adjustment element and an indicator which cooperates with suitableindicia.

Many forms and modifications of my device will occur to those skilled inthe art. Therefore it is to be clearly understood that I am not to belimited in my invention only to that form shown and described, but.bythe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a control device, in combination, a first lever pivoted to rotateabout a first axis, a second lever pivoted to rotate about a secondaxis, said first and second axes being in angular relationship to eachother, adjustable connecting means to transmit movement from one to theother of said levers movable angularly in relation to the axes of bothlevers to simultaneously vary an effective lever arm of each lever,control means operated by one of said levers, condition responsive meansto move the other of said levers, and adjustment means for adjusting thecondition value at which said condition responsive means will move saidother lever.

2. In a control device, in combination, a first lever pivoted to rotateabout a first axis, a second lever pivoted to rotate about a secondaxis, said first and second axes being in angular relationship to eachother, connecting means to transmit movement from one to the other ofsaid levers, adjustment means movable angularly in relation to the axesof both levers to simultaneously vary an effective lever arm oi eachlever, condition responsive means to move one of said levers, and meansfor changing said connecting means from one to the other side of theaxis of one of said levers to cause said device to be either direct orreverse acting.

3. In a control device, in combination, a first lever pivoted to rotateabout a first axis, a second lever pivoted to rotate about a secondaxis, said first and second axes being inangular relationship to eachother, connecting means to transmit movement from one to the other ofsaid levers, adjustment means movable angularly in relation to the axesof both levers to simultaneously vary an efiective lever arm of eachlever, condition responsive means to move one of said levers, controlmeans operated by the other of said levers, and means for changing saidconnecting means from one to the other side of the axis of one of saidlevers to cause said control means to be either direct or reverse actingwith respect to said condition responsive means.

4. In combination, a non-rotatable first sleeve having interior andexterior threads, said in-' terior threads being of a different pitchwith relation to the said exterior threads, a rotatable second sleevehaving interior threads cooperable with the exterior threads of saidfirst sleeve, a screw cooperable with the interior threads of said firstsleeve, means to rotate said screw and said second sleeve simultaneouslywhereby said first sleeve and said second sleeve move at different ratesof movement in axial relationship to said screw in accordance with thedifierence .in pitch of said interior and exterior threads, firstadjustment means actuated by one of said sleeves, and second adjustmentmeans actuated by the other of said sleeves.

thereby vary the sensitivity of said valve in rerates of movement inaxial relationship to said screw in accordance with the difference inpitch of said interior and exterior threads, first adjustment meansactuated by one of said sleeves,

second adjustment means actuatedby the other of said sleeves, anindicator carried by one of said adjustment means, a cover having a holetherein which registers with said indicator, and indicia arfiacent thehole in said cover for indicating the position of said adjustment means.

6. In combination, a pair of spaced supports, a bleed port securedbetween said supports, a flapper valve cooperable with said bleed port,a movable humidity responsive element, connection means between saidelement and said valve whereby said valve is moved toward and away fromsaid port by said element, said connection means including a pair ofnon-parallelly rotatable levers, and adjustment means to vary thefiectivelever arm of at least one of said levers to thereby vary thesensitivity of said valve in response to movement of said element.

7. In combination, a pair of spaced supports, a bleed port securedbetween said supports, a flapper valve cooperable with said bleed port,a movable humidity responsive element, connection means between saidelement and said valve whereby said valve is moved toward and away fromsaid port by said element, said connection means including a pair ofnon-parallelly rotatable levers, adjustment means to vary the efiectivelever arm of at least one of said levers to thereby vary the sensitivityof said valve in response to movement of said element, and adjustmentmeans for adjusting the control point of said element.

8. In combination, a pair of spaced supports, a bleed port securedbetween said supports, a flapper valve cooperable with said bleed port,a movable humidity responsive element, connection means between saidelement and said valve whereby said valve is moved toward and away fromsaid port by said element, said connection means including a pair ofnon-parallelly rotatable levers, adjustment means to vary the effectivelever arm of at least one of said levers to sponse to movement of saidelement, adjustment means for adjusting the control point of saidelement, and temperature compensating means for compensating themovement of said element in response to temperature changes.

9. In combination, a pair of spaced supports, a bleed port securedbetween said supports, a flapper valve cooperable with said bleed port,a movable humidity responsive element, connection means between saidelement and said valve whereby said valve is moved toward and away fromsaid port by said element, said connection means including a pair ofnon-parallelly rotatable levers, adjustment means to vary the effectivelever arm of at least one of said levers to with protect against unduement, and strain release means associated said adjustment means tostress in said element.

10. In combination, a flapper valve, a movable.

humidity responsive element for opening and closing said flapper valvein accordance with changes in ambient humidity, first adjustment meansfor varying the sensitivity of said element in relation to said valve,second adjustment means for varying the control point at which saidelement will act upon said valve, a strain release for preventing unduestress in said element, and means for preventing movement of saidelement in response to ambient temperature changes, said last means alsoproviding a pivot for said adjustment means.

11. In combination, a flapper valve, a movable humidity responsiveelement for opening and closing said flapper valve in accordance withchanges in" ambient humidity, first adjustment means for varying thesensitivity of said element in relation to said valve, 'a rotatableadjusting screw, a pair of axially movable adjustment sleeves carried bysaid screw, variously pitched screw thread means causing one of saidsleeves to move a greater distance than the other for the same rotationof 'said adjusting screw, an .indicator carried by one of said sleevesfor indicating the setting of the element, a lever adapted to bepositioned by the other of said sleeves for setting said element, apivot for said lever, and temperature compensating means associated withsaid pivot for compensating the movement of said element in response toambient temperature changes. r

12.'A control device adjustment comprising,

, an actuating first lever'pivoted to rotate about an axis, an actuatedsecond lever pivoted to rotate about an axis which is in angularrelationship to said first. axis, connecting means for connecting saidtwo levers, said connecting means being adjustable to vary the effectivelever arm of at least one of said levers, and means for changing saidconnecting means from one tothe other side of the axis of one of saidlevers only to thereby reverse the effective action of said one of saidlevers. 13. In a control device, in combination, a firs free end oisaidcompensat'ing member engaging said support and operating to movesaid support away from the first end of said humidity responsive elementon an increase in temperature to compensate for thermal expansion ofsaid humidity responsive element.

15. In a control device, in combination, a first lever pivoted to rotateabout a first axis, a sec ond lever pivoted to rotate about a secondaxis, f said first and second axes being in angular-relationship to eachother, condition responsive means for moving said first lever, controlmeans actuated by said second lever, motion transmitting meansconnectlng a first point on said first lever with a first point .on saidsecond lever,. and

means for adjusting the effective leverage of said levers comprisingmeans for bodily adjusting said motion transmitting means to connect asecond point on said first "lever wlthia second point on said secondlever.

17. In a humidity responsive control device, in combination, a basemember, a control element carried by said base, a longitudinallyexpanding and contracting humidity responsive element havingvacoeflicient of thermal expansion dif-. fering from that of the materialor which said base member is composed operatively connected at a firstend to sald'control ature compensating member its endsby said base andhaving a free end adapted to move relative to said base on changes leverpivoted to rotate about a first axis, a sec- 0nd lever pivoted to rotateabout a second axis, said first and second axes being in angularrelationship to each other, adjustable connecting means to transmitmovement from one to the other of said levers movable angularly inrelation to the axes of both levers to simultaneously vary an effectivelever arm of each lever, condition responsive means to move one of saidlevers, and means for positioning said connecting means cause the deviceto operate either direct or reverse acting. I

14. In a humidity responsive control device, in

combination, a base member, a control element on either side of the axisof one of said levers'to I in temperature, a lever, adjusting means forpcsltloning a first end of said lever to select the value of relativehumidity element is operated, and a support for the second end of saidhumidity responsive element carried by the second end or said lever,said lever being pivoted intermediate its ends said compensating member.

18. In a humidity responsive control device, in combination, a basemember, a control element carried by said base, a longitudinallyexpanding and contracting humidity responsive element having a coemclentof thermal expansiondill'erlng from that of the material of which saidbase member is composed operatlvely connected at a lirst end to saidcontrol element, a temperature compensating member carried by said basemember and having one of its ends biased to a predetermined positionwith respect to said base member,- the other end of said cdmpensatlngmember being free to move relative to said base member on changes intemperature, a lever, adjusting means ior positioning a first end ofsaid lever to select the value of relative humidity at which saidcontrol element is operated,

member.

' D. JOEBTING.

element, a tempercarried at one of at which said control on the freeend'of

